Crimson Red Clouds
by Faded Wings Of Light
Summary: Yet another story within a series. Crimson Red Clouds the next after Bleeding Heart. New enemies and a new character from Legato and Nicole, Raven. A young girl with amazing powers, but will she use them wisely? Plz R&R ^__^;
1. New Beginnings

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - One  
  
- Title - New Beginnings.  
  
==  
  
"Mama! Mama!"  
  
Legato rolled over and opened his eyes. A little girl of eight stood at the side of the bed, her yellow eyes sparkling and her mop of unruly brown hair sticking out at odd angles. "What is it, Raven?" He asked with a groggy voice.  
  
"Mama! Where's mama!" She protested.  
  
I lifted up my hand and waved it slowly from beside Legato. Raven rushed to my side and climbed into bed with me. "Mama, I had a bad dream," she whispered.  
  
I opened my eyes and hugged Raven. "Did you get a glass of water?"  
  
"I got warm milk."  
  
Legato's arms came around me and he peered over my shoulder at Raven. "That isn't good when you had a nightmare, Raven," he said with a smile.  
  
I looked at the clock. It was four in the afternoon, too early for us to be awake. "You can sleep with us tonight, honey."  
  
Raven snuggled against me and I rolled over so she was between Legato and me. Legato looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "Beautiful daughter we have," he whispered as Raven instantly dozed off.  
  
"I think she looks so much like you," I replied.  
  
Legato reached over and touched my cheek. I leaned, kissed him softly and layed back down on my pillow, falling asleep.  
  
"Mama, I'm hungry."  
  
I woke up and Raven was sitting up. Legato was already gone and I sighed. "Alright," I mumbled and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.  
  
Raven was at my heels as we made our way to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and pulled out a blood packet, handed it to Raven and closed the fridge door again. Raven took small sips of the blood and smiled up at me. "Thanks mama," she said.  
  
I smiled and placed my hand ontop of her head. "Your welcome. Now where is your father?" I asked.  
  
"He went out for a meal. Mama, when can I go out to get a meal?"  
  
"When you're older, Raven. I'll take you out for your first hunt."  
  
"But when, mama?"  
  
"Fifteen."  
  
Raven frowned and took a long sip of the blood before talking again. "That seems like an eternity, mama."  
  
"You should ask your father about eternities, Raven."  
  
Raven let out a giggle and I couldn't help but lift her up and hug her tight. "I love you so much Raven, do you know that?"  
  
"I know mama. I love you too."  
  
I put her down and entered the living room. Legato was sitting near the fireplace reading a book. "How was your meal?" I asked.  
  
Legato looked up and smiled. "It was nice. You want to go out? I can watch Raven for a while," he said.  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
"You don't like going for a meal because you're so protective of Raven. Believe me when I say this, Nicole, I can take care of her and this house."  
  
I smiled. "I know. I just don't feel like eating right now."  
  
"If you don't eat, then you can feed off some of the blood I have. I have enough for you and still enough so I won't be feeling fatigue or sluggish."  
  
I shrugged and walked over to the loveseat and sat down. Raven marched into the room and huffed. "I'm bored, mama," she said.  
  
"Go play in the toy room then, Raven."  
  
"But mama, there's something in the toy room."  
  
The way she said those words made the hairs on the back of my neck stick straight out and a cold chill ran up my spine. I took a nervous glance at Legato and he stood up. "What'd it look like, Raven?" He asked.  
  
Raven shrugged. "Like a ghost...but yet it wasn't a ghost, papa. A vampire and she was really pretty, but her whole physical aura frightened me. Last night she was here, that's why I went to your bedroom. She always reached out to me and asked for help, help from a godsend."  
  
Legato walked past Raven and towards the staircase. "Legato!"  
  
I got to my feet and he turned to me with a blank expression. "I'm going to check it out," he said as he took each step.  
  
"I'll go with you!" I exclaimed.  
  
I rushed to his side and turned to Raven. "Stay here on the loveseat. If anyone but us come down here, run outside and find a hiding place nearby."  
  
"Alright mama," Raven said with a nod.  
  
I walked beside Legato up the staircase. "Who do you think it is?"  
  
"I don't know until we introduce ourselves to this..ghost."  
  
I felt another chill go up my spine. Trying to shake the fear away, I grabbed Legato's arm absent mindedly. "You scared?" He asked with a whisper.  
  
"I fear that I am," I replied with a tremble.  
  
"You should be if our daughter couldn't do anything about this. Just think...this thing could probably kill us both and then slaughter Raven."  
  
I jerked him around and glared into his eyes. "Don't you dare say that!"  
  
Legato's eyes squinted with amusement. "I'm kidding, Nicole. I won't let anything happen to Raven or you for that matter. If this ghost vampire is real, then I'll take care of it if she decides to attack us or make any sudden movements."  
  
I nodded slowly as Legato pushed open the door. Nothing.  
  
I gave out a sigh of relief. As soon as the last breath came out I was knocked back by a tremendous force. My hands groped for something to hold onto, but nothing was caught as I spiralled back. The railing to the second floor broke and I fell towards the first floor. "Legato!" I cried out.  
  
"Mama!" Raven screamed.  
  
The floor came closer and closer. I closed my eyes before collision.  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Nicole?! Are you alright?!" Legato yelled.  
  
I opened my eyes and the floor was only inches away from my face. Turning my head I saw Raven standing there, her eyes wide with fear and worry. Had she saved me?  
  
"Mama, are you alright?" She asked.  
  
I was released and I got to my feet. "I'm fine...Raven, was that you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Get out!" A voice boomed.  
  
I gathered Raven into my arms just as Legato dropped next to us, landing firmly on his feet. "She's up there..and she wants Raven," he said.  
  
"I'm not going to let her have Raven, Legato. We don't know what that ghost wants."  
  
Legato looked over at me. "I wasn't implying that we give Raven up."  
  
"I know."  
  
Raven struggled against me. "Mama and papa, kill the lady! She wants to do us harm, she wants to kill all of us!"  
  
I nodded to Legato and he smiled. "We'll take care of her, Raven. Don't worry."  
  
Easy for him to say. Why was I still worrying?  
  
-- To Be Continued -- ^___^; I hope you ppl like Crimson Red Clouds. ^__^; 


	2. Two Broken Apart

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - Two  
  
- Title - Two Broken Apart.  
  
==  
  
I held Raven closer and felt her shudder. "Raven?" I said.  
  
"Mama, if that lady comes down here...will you protect me?" She asked.  
  
"I promise I will, Raven."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
I looked down at Raven and smoothed her unruly mop of brown hair. Legato floated towards the second floor and a loud crack echoed through the house. His body flinched back and his arms came up to protect his face. Shards of glass speared through the air and blood rained down. "Legato!" I cried.  
  
"I'm fine. It's just cuts," he replied as his arms came down.  
  
"Get out of this house, leave the godsent!" The woman's voice yelled.  
  
The yell seemed more like a screaming demand. "Show yourself!" Legato ordered.  
  
A ghostly figure appeared on the edge of where the railings were. Her dress flowed with an unfelt wind and her dark hair was long enough to end at the middle of her back. Her face looked almost like mine, yet it possessed such a demonic expression. "Give the child to me and I will not kill Nicole," she said.  
  
"Why do you want Raven?" Legato inquired.  
  
"She posesses such a great power from the two most vampiric freaks of the world. I'd like to drink her blood so I can once again become human, or rather be a full bodied vampire again."  
  
I started to backstep and the woman's gaze turned to me. "Nicole...don't move or I will kill you. Then feed off your rotting corpse," she snapped.  
  
I stopped and held Raven tighter. "How do you suppose you'll kill me?!" I challenged.  
  
"I am a part of you...a part of you who loathes this damn family...who wants to kill everything and everyone. You cannot deny the bloodlust, Nicole. I am Celes, your inner demon. Who will drink the blood from Raven and become immortal, then kill Legato. He stands in our way, dear outer layer of the true self. We are not at our full capacity of power, we need the blood of our offspring."  
  
"You are not part of me! I would never want to harm Raven or Legato!"  
  
Legato floated down and took Raven from me. "Ghosts manipulate the mind, Nicole," he said.  
  
"I know this...and that is why I'm going to fight her. I want Raven to be happy."  
  
Raven looked at me and her eyes held unreadable emotions. "Be careful, mama," she whispered.  
  
"I will. Don't worry about me."  
  
I ran up the steps and stopped once I reached the top floor. "Let's find out if you really are my inner demon," I sneered.  
  
Celes raised a ghostly eyebrow. "I am, Nicole. Legato is such a great lover...but I could have brought out your full potential. I'm your bad kitten inside of a low-life vampire. Nicole, you could have brought down the world at your feet. Glendon tried to make you this powerful woman, but you refused. That's why Legato had to kill Glendon, he didn't want you to become more powerful than him. He wants power just like we do, Nicole."  
  
"Just shut up. I don't want to here this bullshit!"  
  
"Bullshit? I don't believe the truth is that. I think we should become one!"  
  
Celes sprang forward and a sharp pain hit me. "Mama!!"  
  
"Fight her, Nicole!"  
  
I collapsed to my knees and felt Celes inside of me. Her mind wandering up to my own and pushing it away. Pushing it into darkness.  
  
--  
  
"Nicole..."  
  
I opened my eyes and Celes was nelt over me. "You're going to be alright, Nicole. Just let me into your mind," she whispered.  
  
"I'd rather kill myself," I snarled.  
  
"Raven is just like Glendon. She has this great power...Legato sees it as a competition so I think he'll kill Raven while your fighting me."  
  
"He wouldn't do that!"  
  
"He killed Glendon, didn't he?"  
  
"That wasn't our son! That was V...."  
  
I stopped and remembered Vash. His caring eyes and he was always a gentleman. "Vash? I see...so the higher beings didn't know that you were with the demon. Now I know the whole picture, but that doesn't change my purpose. Let me into you, let me boost your power...let me help you."  
  
"Help me kill my own daughter? Help me kill Legato? You are here for destruction, just like you said."  
  
"Being a ghost of one's self...it doesn't really help at all. Being a ghost sucks ass, you can't really get your point across with the spectral body. I am part of you, I am held within you and I am your inner demon. Make amends with me. Mend me into your whole being and then...only then can you really have control over yourself."  
  
"Mend you?" I asked.  
  
"Yes, mend me, Nicole. I was broken apart when you first met Legato, remember?"  
  
I thought back. I had been a mindless teenager back then, one who flowed with everyone else. That night, when I let Legato take my blood willingly for the first time a part of me had vanished. A part of me which made me who I was. The part that made me almost human. Then when Legato and I made love for the first time, the same part which had vanished, broke apart. I was nothing, but I was a vampire. A vampire with a lust for blood and Legato. Tears slid down my cheeks. "Lies," I whispered.  
  
"Lies? What do you mean?"  
  
"I was never human. There was always a small fragment in my mind saying I was, but I never really was. Celes...you're right. Legato made me...Legato made me Nicole. Who was I before him?"  
  
Celes looked into my eyes and the tears appeared. "No one..."  
  
No one before Legato. I was his creation. Raven is my creation. "Nothing but two people torn apart."  
  
Celes closed her eyes. "I see you understand now why I did what I had to do. I hope I haven't jossled your mind or anything. Will you let me come back?" She asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Go back to your daughter...the only real thing of you. She will grow up and be something spectacular to this world. Go back to Legato, the one who made you Nicole...the one that made me."  
  
Celes's energis flowed through me and I felt like I was a whole. A whole being in a world of creation, a world full of lies.  
  
"Nicole! Wake up!" Legato pleaded.  
  
"Mama!" Raven cried, tears dropping to the ground.  
  
I opened my eyes and sat up. Legato pulled me into a tight embrace and Raven held my left arm. "I know everything now, Legato," I whispered into his ear.  
  
"She told you," he replied.  
  
I nodded against the side of his head. I was still an Innocent, my father had been real. My mother hadn't been real, she had been a dream. A creation from my long dead father from long ago in the past. I got to my feet and picked Raven up off the floor. "You're going to change the world, Raven."  
  
"No I'm not. I'm nothing special like you, mama."  
  
"Oh, but you're much more than me."  
  
Raven smiled slightly and hugged me. I looked at Legato and felt a new emotion grow within me. Self pity.  
  
-- To Be Continued. -- Ooh, so Nicole wasn't even -real-? She was just a creation of Legato's! Wahahaha, what a twist. Raven is real..eh..well, time is gonna speed up in the next chapter. Raven'll be sixteen. ^__^; She's gonna meet a very familiar person to all of us. 


	3. The Vagabond and Mystery Man

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - Three  
  
- Title - The Vagabond and Mystery Man.  
  
==  
  
I opened my eyes.  
  
Nothing.  
  
I closed them once again and sighed. "I wish she would be here."  
  
"She's a sixteen year old vampire, Nicole," Legato replied.  
  
His strong arms came around me and he kissed my neck. "I remember being sixteen," I murmered.  
  
"I remember when we were alone...and right now we are, love."  
  
I smiled at his friendliness. "Don't push it, Raven could come home soon."  
  
Legato whimpered and toyed with my bottom lip with his thumb. "Please...I miss everything we used to do, Nicole."  
  
I opened my mouth and bit his thumb gently. He reached over and put his hand behind my neck, his fangs brushing my throat and collarbone. --  
  
Raven sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Damnit," she cursed with a pout.  
  
The city was small and a few people were walking around, but Raven wasn't hungry enough to bring down a meal. Being sixteen, she wanted out of the house more and she sensed something in the city. Something unusual and interesting. It made her skin tingle and her blood pressure rise, making her heart beat faster and her hunger soar. Where, she thought, where is it? Where is this energy coming from?  
  
A glimpse of shady orange glasses caught her attention and she turned to look at a vagabond. She could tell by his clothing that he was a poor man without a problem in the world, except bankrupt. Raven lifted her nose at him and snorted in disgust, turned and looked over at the saloon. "I'd rather be dead than have to live like him," she sneered to herself.  
  
Raven strolled to the saloon and entered. Her hair was long enough to reach her knees and was still a dark brown. Her yellow eyes danced with an unreadable feeling burrowing inside of her and setting up house. "Good evening, Raven," the bartender said with a smile.  
  
"Hi, Gosheif," Raven replied with a tiny wave of her right index finger.  
  
The same vagabond was sitting in a booth near the back of the saloon. This made Raven suspicious of his intentions. Was he following me, she questioned herself.  
  
His spiked yellow hair stood out against his crimson red overcoat. His boots were black and metal seemed to frame the bottom of them. His sunglasses dipped and revealed aquamarine eyes, eyes which stared at Raven as she made her way to the bar.  
  
"What'll it be, Raven?" Gosheif asked as he dried a cup.  
  
"Creamy rootbeer, please," Raven said and propped her chin up with her fist.  
  
"Coming right up."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Gosheif smiled and disappeared into the backroom.  
  
"A young girl wandering alone, are you afraid of being abducted?"  
  
Raven dropped her hand and turned. A dark haired man sat next to her, his blue eyes staring at the liquor in his mug. "I'm safe," she muttered.  
  
"Are you sure about that?" He asked, his voice inbetween deep and flowing.  
  
"Yes. I have my own defenses."  
  
The man raised an eyebrow and cast a glimpse at the vagabond in the corner, then his gaze turned back to his drink. "Who is that wanderer?" Raven asked.  
  
"I don't know. I don't know anyone in this foreboding town," he replied.  
  
"Someone must know who he is!"  
  
"Ask around and you might be killed by his followers, if he has any that is."  
  
Raven grabbed his shoulder and a spark seemed to ignite in his eyes. "You know something! I know you do!" She exclaimed.  
  
The man shrugged Raven's hand off his shoulder and got up, snatched the large cross beside him and left the saloon. "I'm not finished talking to you!"  
  
"Raven, you're disrupting my customers who paid good money to be in here today," Goseif said.  
  
Raven nodded and turned to the corner. The vagabond was gone. --  
  
I nestled into Legato's warm embrace and closed my eyes, breathing in the salty smell of his body. "I love you, Legato," I whispered.  
  
"I you, Nicole. That was so fluffy that I think you need a drink," Legato replied.  
  
I smiled and got out of bed, threw on a robe and turned around. "Coming?"  
  
Legato got out of bed and stepped into pair of baggy sweatpants. "Yes, Nicole. I'm coming."  
  
We headed out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen. I opened the door and smiled. "Hi Raven," I said.  
  
Raven looked up from her glass of crimson red and smiled back. "Hi mom, how are you?" She asked.  
  
I blushed slightly as Legato brushed past me. "I'm great."  
  
Raven lifted an eyebrow at me and smirked. I stuck my tongue out at her as I walked over to the fridge. "Lucky you has a kind of immunity to the sunlight, goes to show that there are abilities out there that aid the luckiest children in the world. Legato, why don't we have the ability?" I asked.  
  
"We're old folks who came at a bad time in the world when that ability wasn't even usable. Raven is one lucky one of a few," he replied before taking a drink out of his mug.  
  
A clatter made me jump and I spun around. Raven's glass had hit the floor and shattered. "Raven? What is it?"  
  
Raven blinked and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I think I kind of zoned out for a minute there and didn't realize I was moving the glass," she replied and got up.  
  
"You're leaving?" Legato asked.  
  
"Just for a while, dad. Don't you two worry yourselves."  
  
Raven stepped out of the room and clutched her shirt above her heart. "There was something definently evil in that room....something that ate away at mom's soul...ripping at dad's heart like a damn scavanger. What was that feeling I had...the feeling of something beheld within one of them..the feeling that it wanted out. Reaching for me...begging me to die," she gasped, sweat rolling down the sides of her face.  
  
-- To be Continued. -- ^__^;; woo. That was pretty freaky when I'm listening to Ghost Ship-Devil May Cry. ;; I'm gonna write the fourth chapter right after I finish saving this. ^__^; 


	4. The Vagabond is Vash, Raven's Guardian

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - Four  
  
- Title - The Vagabond is Vash, Raven's Guardian.  
  
==  
  
Raven slid down the walls of two buildings, landing silently like the pitter patter of raindrops which fell to the ground. Shroud in a dark cloak, she made her way around the town. Her yellow eyes glowing against the darkness, her heart pacing faster than her own breath. Her mind racing with unanswered questions. Why, she thought, am I running so far?  
  
"You are the knife, in which I bleed from. In which I deprive what humanity I have left in the souless body scarred by a thousand knives..releasing the hate and growing sorrow within."  
  
Raven stopped running and turned around. "The vagabond!" She exclaimed.  
  
He stood only a few feet away, but it seemed further while Raven's eyes were glowing. "Vagabond? I have no sword which to kill humans with, nor do I have a weapon," he said, his voice sincere and dark at the same time.  
  
Raven swung her hand down. "Why are you always around me!? Who the hell do you think you are?!"  
  
"I'm just a wanderer, like you said to the man in blue. I think I should be thanked for watching over you every step of your teen years outside of that house."  
  
Raven frowned and stormed over to him, glaring at the orange sunglasses which covered the eyes of this mysterious man. His blonde hair was matted down from the rain which began to pour down from above. "You've been watching me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Raven sideswiped, but missed his face. He outmaneuvered her and stood to the right. "You damn pervert!" She growled.  
  
"Pervert? How am I a pervert when I haven't seen your bare skin which I long for. Which I wish to taste between my fangs...to know who you are deep within. I have only watched you, and that is all I have been doing. A guardian that is always watching you. Always worrying about your life," he said with a crooked smile.  
  
Raven blushed slightly, but dismissed it. "You're a vampire also!?"  
  
He bared his fangs with a more open smile. "Yes. How do you believe I've been untracked by your inhuman senses? No mere mortal could keep away from you. Nor can a vampire who lusts for power. Which I am not attempting to do."  
  
"How have you found me? Why are you following me?"  
  
"I found you crying in a downpour like this once. Watching you made me wonder who you really were. I then realized what power you held within you by taking in your energis scent. I am following you so I can protect you from anyone who would want to hurt you, Raven."  
  
"You know my name...what's yours?"  
  
The man removed his sunglasses, revealing his glowing aquamarine eyes. "Vash at your disposal," he replied with a bow.  
  
"Vash?"  
  
He looked up and smiled warmly. "You are a beautiful young woman, you are. The guardian always follows the one he finds to be guarded. Even if it means going against death itself. I'll always be here."  
  
Always, Raven thought, he'll always be here?  
  
The sense of the power Raven had sensed early came to her and she turned sharply, catching sight of a dark clad man vanishing from sight. "I see he's picked up on you also," Vash said.  
  
"He? Do you know him?" Raven asked.  
  
"Nicholas D. Wolfwood...the man in the bar who you asked if he knew me. He does know me, hell, we were exactly there together. In Hell to rot with all the other vigilanty vampires who thought they owned the world with an iron fist. I think he sensed your power earlier when you grabbed his shoulder."  
  
"Why were you in Hell?"  
  
Vash shook his head. "Long story. I don't want to power out the very essence of my being to you now, Raven. Will your parents be furious with you when you go home all soaked wet?"  
  
Raven looked down at herself and frowned. Her clothing had soaked and stuck to her body. The cloak was floating in a small puddle near her foot. Raven's hair matted to her head and she held the rest tight, tying a hairtie into it. "Do not utter my name to them," Vash warned.  
  
"Huh? Why?" Raven asked.  
  
"Just don't. I don't want anyone else to know I am here."  
  
Vash vanished into the darkness before Raven could say a word to him. --  
  
"Where is she!?" I cried, holding the sides of my head like it would burst with worry.  
  
"Calm down, Nicole. Raven'll be okay, she's a tough girl," Legato said as he flipped to the next page in his book.  
  
The fire crackled beside me and I frowned. "It's one in the morning!"  
  
"You're still up."  
  
I snorted and collapsed into Legato's lap. He grunted as he yanked his book from under me. "We're vampires...we don't sleep at night, Legato."  
  
"I know. You've been restless since Raven went out earlier. You need to get some sleep, maybe a lot of it just to be safe."  
  
"Do you know how many other vampires are out there, Legato?! She's only sixteen and developed enough that any man would want to take her home and suck her dry of blood!"  
  
Legato's right eyebrow twitched. "Now you're just overreacting, dear."  
  
I flicked his nose gently. "I am not!"  
  
"I'm home," Raven said as she walked into the room and closed the door.  
  
I jumped up and rushed over to her. "You're soaking wet!" I exclaimed.  
  
"Sorry, my cloak kind of slipped off and I didn't notice it."  
  
I nodded and sighed. "What made you not notice?"  
  
Raven shrugged. "I dunno, maybe I just zoned out."  
  
"That zoning out is getting annoying."  
  
Legato stood up. "Glad you're home, Raven. You can go now," he said with a smile.  
  
Raven nodded and my jaw hit about hit the floor as she ran upstairs. "You're letting her off the hook that easy?!"  
  
I made jabbing gestures with my fingers towards the stairs. Legato chuckled. "You're acting like a teenager again, Nicole. It's good to see you have at least a heart to be a teen again, unlike me whom is too -outdated- to do it ever again."  
  
"Who said you were outdated?!"  
  
"You did, Nicole."  
  
I gasped. "I did not!"  
  
Legato nodded and smirked. "Last night you called me outdated! So what if my love methods are old style, I still get you-"  
  
"Shhhh!!!!!!" I exclaimed.  
  
Legato laughed and I jabbed him in the chest with my index finger, making his eyebrows come together in a comical motion. "Be quiet!"  
  
"You started it."  
  
"Did not!"  
  
Legato kissed me and pulled me into a warm embrace. "I ended it," he whispered.  
  
I smiled and kissed him back. --  
  
Raven rubbed her arms and felt another cold chill go up her spine as she leaned against the wall. "This coldness doesn't go away," she mumbled.  
  
She walked into the bathroom and ran the hot water, filling up the tub. Raven stripped off her wet clothes and slid into the tub, sighing as the warmth filled her up. There was still the coldness in her body which would never go away. Her thoughts wandered back to Vash. "He was a sincere sounding man....but something about the way he talked about Wolfwood made me nervous. Hell...he came from hell. Why does he follow someone as obnoxious and rude as me? Am I something special to him?"  
  
She blushed as she remembered. "How am I a pervert when I haven't seen your bare skin which I long for. Which I wish to taste between my fangs...to know who you are deep within," Vash 's voice said in her head.  
  
Raven submerged under the water. Her heart racing.  
  
-- To Be Continued. -- Oooh, is this a crush forming onto Vash by Raven? You get your hopes up! Mwahahahaha. As said before, to be continued. 


	5. Fading Memory

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - Five  
  
- Title - Fading Memory.  
  
==  
  
Raven opened her eyes and looked at the window. The sun rises, she thought, as does my hopes to renew my hunger.  
  
She got out of bed and brushed her long hair, quickly putting it up into a bun and changing into hip hugging jeans and a black tanktop with a red cross on the back. Raven darted out of the house. --  
  
I woke to the sound of a door slam and sighed. "There she goes again...off into the human city."  
  
"You don't trust humans, do you?" Legato asked wearily.  
  
"No..."  
  
My voice seemed to have a darker ring to it and it sent chills up my spine. I couldn't help but wonder why Raven was always out, why she never told us exactly where she was going. "It's a boy," I said aloud.  
  
"You don't know that for sure, Nicole."  
  
"I know it is!"  
  
"No...you don't. Now, go back to sleep...you're interrupting my romantic dream."  
  
My left eyebrow twitched. "Romantic dream!? With whom!?"  
  
Legato chuckled. --  
  
Raven stopped running and looked up towards the sky, closing her eyes tight and breathing in the fresh air. "You're still running around by yourself," a familiar voice sighed.  
  
Raven turned around and Wolfwood stood there, his hands in his pockets and a cigerette glowing between his lips. "Don't follow me," she warned.  
  
"Why not? Do you know how many untrustworthy men there are in the world?"  
  
"I'm looking at the leader."  
  
Wolfwood smirked and the butt fell from his lips. His shoe heeled it into the dirt. "Leader?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
He looked up at her and his grin was demon-like. His fangs glistened as he looked up towards the sky. "We have this amazing ability to withstand great amounts of sunlight. Yet it doesn't seem like enough to satisfy my need for power and you are that power, Raven. No need to get frightened by me, I'm your friend."  
  
"Friend my ass. All you want is power, that's what Vash said!"  
  
Wolfwood's eyes flickered. "So, he talked to you about me, eh?" He asked.  
  
Raven bit her lip, realizing she gave away his name and now Wolfwood would surely suck her energy dry. "He said you were after my powers," she replied.  
  
"Energis is more like it...I have no need for your powers. Your abilities are that of child's play, Raven. If you join me, you can have anything you want. Vash is a dead beat, someone who lost important things and amends by killing others. A rogue of death with a damn death wish up his sleeve all the time. Narrow misses of death and he still kicks."  
  
"He isn't like that!"  
  
Wolfwood's eyes widened. "Oh, so you think differently when you've just met him?"  
  
Raven frowned. "You're a fantastic liar, but I can see right through the deciet. I don't need anyone else's help, I can do this on my own with or without anyone."  
  
Wolfwood took a step back just as the sky began to darken. "The weather is strange today...isn't it? I bet a flood is in store, don't you?" he asked with a laugh.  
  
Raven turned around and screamed.  
  
A raging river swept through the town, but the humans seemed unfazed by this. The water passed right through them, but didn't affect any of them. --  
  
"Stirring emotions....conflict. Death most surely," I murmered in my sleep.  
  
Legato sat up and looked to the side. "Death?" He pondered.  
  
--  
  
Raven was swept up in the current, water filling her mouth. "What the hell are you doing?!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Just making sure you're long dead and without kicks before I drain you," Wolfwood replied as he stood on the top of a building.  
  
Raven closed her eyes as she felt the whole world begin to blacken and faze out of exsistance. Help, she thought pleadingly, help me please! Anyone.  
  
"Raven!"  
  
Raven's eyes fluttered open and she grabbed hold of Vash's hand. Wolfwood leaped off the building. "Damnit! You ruin everything, bastard!" He snarled, excelerating towards the two.  
  
"Hang on, Raven. I'll help you," Vash said.  
  
He pulled her up and held her close. Raven took in a breath as she contacted with his muscular chest, her cheeks became rosey and she found it hard to breathe. Wolfwood swiped and Vash dodged it easily, swinging around and planting a solid foot in Wolfwood's gut. Vash sprang forward and grabbed the edge of a tall building, above the ripping torrent. "I'll always be here, Raven. Don't you ever forget that," Vash whispered.  
  
Raven nodded against his chest and held his arm a little tighter as Wolfwood regained his posture. "I'll get her next time when you are not around!" He warned.  
  
The ripping torrent vanished and so did Wolfwood. Vash dropped from the building and landed firmly on the ground with Raven still clutching his arm. She turned, with tears evidently wanting to spring out and flow, and grabbed Vash's overcoat. "I was so stupid! I thought I could handle it!" She cried.  
  
"No, don't say that, Raven," Vash said calmly.  
  
"I was! I was stupid enough to say your name to him! He could come back for you first and kill you!"  
  
"No one is going to be killed, Raven. Now stop it, you're making a scene."  
  
"I don't care! I don't care Vash!!"  
  
Vash looked around and nodded to the staring spectators. "She'll be alright, we're practicing for a play."  
  
The people nodded and went on with their business as Raven cried, tears pouring from her eyes. "Raven, it's okay now. Everything's alright."  
  
"No it's not!!"  
  
Vash frowned and hugged Raven. She blinked and the tears slid carelessly down her cheeks. Raven looked up into Vash's face to see tears rolling down his own cheeks. "Why are you crying?" She asked.  
  
Vash opened his eyes. "You are...I hate seeing people cry when there is nothing to cry about," he replied.  
  
Raven sniffled and shook her head. "You shouldn't have came...you should have let him take me."  
  
"I couldn't do that, Raven."  
  
"Why then!? Why am I so important to protect?!!! Answer me this!"  
  
She pulled away from Vash and frowned. Vash folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side. "You are like someone I once knew, Raven. You look so much like her when you were crying....it brought back many painful memories. I loved that woman with all my heart...but I was nothing compared to her true love. All that came from our love was a demon. That's all you need to know about my past, Raven. Now, I'd better go...be safe and go home to your family," he replied and before Raven could say something he vanished.  
  
Raven closed her eyes and the last tears slid down her cheeks. "He is a mystery to me.....I want to unfold the mystery and see what's within," she mumbled.  
  
The wind began to pick up as she headed home. --  
  
Vash stood atop a large building and frowned. "She's so much like Nicole....except they're all dead. How can I guard someone without falling in love?" He asked himself.  
  
He nelt on the rooftop and watched Raven head home. His aquamarine eyes became sheer from the tears growing in his eyes. "She's an angel sent from Hell to extinguish all barriers to the human world."  
  
-- To Be Continued -- 


	6. Falling Into Open Arms

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - Six  
  
- Title - Falling Into Open Arms.  
  
==  
  
Raven stared at her reflection in the mirror. Yet another ability she had gained from the new age of vampires.  
  
She reached up and touched her hair. "I'm nothing special," she murmered.  
  
Raven closed her eyes as she brushed through her hair, humming a tune she had heard long ago. "Nothing special at all...yet...why does he want to protect me so bad? I remind him of a lost love. I don't understand these feelings....I hate them.."  
  
The brush clattered to the floor and she buried her face into her hands, tears seeping through the spaces between her fingers. "I hate all these feelings I have," she whispered to herself. ---  
  
"She's been up in her room for two whole days, Legato. Are you at least worried about her?" I asked while fiddling with my shoulder length hair.  
  
"You should know what she's feeling...you are a woman after all...you are her mother, mothers know a lot of things men don't understand," Legato replied with a shrug.  
  
"Be serious!"  
  
Legato looked at me and smiled slightly. "I'm being serious, Nicole. Maybe she wants to be alone...you smother her with enough love to the entire human race and vampire cult. Give her a break once in a while, besides...she left late last night to feed. Don't worry so much about her."  
  
I stomped my foot. "I'm her mother! I need to worry!"  
  
"Lower your voice, dear. I never knew crankiness came with the whole child bearing package."  
  
I clobbered him and stormed off to my bedroom, leaving him twitching on the floor. ---  
  
Raven looked out her window and sighed. "I don't need to have someone there for me....the pain I feel right now from the strange vibes I get from my parents is enough to keep me home. Whether or not I go outside doesn't matter....he won't be waiting for me anyways."  
  
She settled on the window sill and gazed up towards the sky, which had become a bloody red color from the setting sun. Raven dropped down from the window sill and landed on the gravel beneath her window. "I need to see if he's not dead....or being tortured by Wolfwood."  
  
Raven wandered down the barren streets of the night and felt the cold chill of loneliness. Her heart beat became faster and her palms began to sweat with anxiety. Where, she thought, where could he be? Where does he hide?  
  
Rain clouds passed overhead and let loose their packages of saturation. Raven stopped walking and stood motionless as the rain drenched her clothes and hair. She looked up at the sky and tears slid down her cheeks. "This feeling I have inside of me is a rogue with a note. This note has everything I should know, but I am afraid to read it. Afraid to know these feelings," she whispered to the sky.  
  
"Alone in the middle of the night," a raspy voice muttered.  
  
Raven, startled, jumped and looked around. "Who's there?!"  
  
Dark figures stood in the shadows. Raven counted three men, humans. "Don't you know it's dangerous in this weather?" A blonde young man asked.  
  
"I knew that, but I can take care of myself."  
  
"Are you sure?" A dark haired friend of the blonde's asked with a smirk.  
  
A flash of a blade caught Raven's attention. It wasn't any ordinary blade though, it was a demon blade filled with blood of a thousand virgins who had been slaughtered by these three demons. "Who are you anyways?" Raven asked.  
  
"Nagai," the blonde said.  
  
"Blake," the dark haired young man replied.  
  
"Max," the third young man with forest green hair replied.  
  
"Three normal looking guys are actually demons underneath all of that pathetic human skin."  
  
Blake snarled. "You better watch your mouth, wench!"  
  
"We'll cut it up so you won't be able to talk, how about that?" Nagai asked with a smile.  
  
Raven turned and as her nails extended, punched Max in the face, sending him to the wet pavement. A sharp pain hit Raven's ankle and she jumped to the side. Blake held the knife as he slinked out of the dirt and regained his normal form.  
  
"You'll have to be careful," he warned.  
  
A shadowy figure dropped down on Blake and darted to the side, leaving a headless body behind. Nagai cried out and pulled out a blade, cutting the shadowy figure's chest. Blood sprayed to the ground and mingled with the water as Nagai's head dropped to the ground. "Are you alright?" A familiar voice asked.  
  
Raven's heart skipped a beat. "Vash?" She gasped.  
  
Vash turned around and the front of his shirt was stained with blood. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, you saved my life..."  
  
Vash nodded and held out his hand, but Raven rushed into an embrace. "You got hurt because of me...damnit, stop being my guardian!" She cried.  
  
"You're making this more than it is, Raven," Vash muttered as he led her down an ally way.  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"I'm taking you to my place so you can get dry and warm, you're shivering underneath your skin." --  
  
"Feeling better?" Vash asked.  
  
Raven stepped out of the backroom wearing a large robe which was crimson red. "I'm feeling warmer," she murmered as she quickly sat down.  
  
Vash nodded and took his overcoat off to reveal a black shirt and black pants. The blood had stained his black shirt, Raven could smell it still on him. Vash stripped the shirt off and tossed it into the fire. Raven's cheeks burned like a furnace as she stared at the muscular back of Vash. He turned around and the wound was already almost healed completely. "Good," he said.  
  
"Good?"  
  
"I'm glad you're feeling better. I don't know what I'd do if you had been killed by those punks."  
  
Raven nodded quickly. "Thank you again for saving me. I just have one thing to say though....stop being my guardian, all you're going to end up as is a corpse underneath those clouds of crimson red."  
  
Vash stared at her blankly then erupted into laughter. "I'm not going to die, nor am I going to stop being your guardian, Raven. Once I set my mind to something, I won't change it no matter what anyone says."  
  
Raven breathed in deeply as Vash wandered over to the backroom, undoing his buckle as he went. "Oh god...these feelings are coming back," Raven gasped silently.  
  
What, she pondered, what is this feeling I have whenever I think about Vash? I think he's foolish to follow me and risk his neck, but do I...no...I can't.  
  
"I love this man who came into my life only three days before," she mumbled.  
  
-- To Be Continued. -- Awwwwww..yeah, I suck at romantic tension. lol. Anywho, plz review. 


	7. Love and Blood Stained Hands

~ Disclaimer ~ I don't own trigun, nor do i own the creators. This is the third story/sequel to the Vampire Tendencies trilogy( I've always wanted to type that! )! I hope you read Bleeding Heart before this because then you'd know what's going on. First is Vampire Tendencies, second is Bleeding Heart and now it's....read the title after the disclaimer! Wahahahhaha..eh..anywho. Mwah.  
  
- Title - Crimson Red Clouds.  
  
- Author - EngelWachterInderHolle.  
  
=  
  
- Chapter - Seven  
  
- Title - Love and Blood Stained Hands.  
  
==  
  
Raven opened her eyes and put the back of her right hand to her forehead. "I'm wasting my sleep thinking about him," she murmered.  
  
She turned her gaze to the door that became a wall between her and Vash. "Wasting my sleep thinking about his touch....how great he would be in my life...how sexy he could be. He's already sexy enough, but I can't do anything about my feelings. If I do...I..."  
  
Tears slowly made their way to her eyes and she sat up quickly, brushing them away. "Taking chances, making mistakes...doing whatever you think is right at this moment. That is for me to go right into that room and tell him what I feel. Yet...I don't know exactly what I'm feeling towards him. Love? What is love?"  
  
Raven got to her feet and turned to Vash's bedroom door. She took a step and chills ran up her spine, chills of being nervous and scared. "What am I to be scared about? Rejection? Being laughed at by my guardian?" She asked herself.  
  
She neared the door and reached for the doorknob. Raven's hand trembled as she grabbed hold and turned it slowly, pushing the door open. It was silent in Vash's room, except the moments she heard Vash take a breath. "Vash?"  
  
No response.  
  
Raven slowly made her way to his bed. She could see the outline of his body and thought. Is he clothed?  
  
Raven shook her head to make the blush go away. "Vash," she repeated.  
  
Vash sat up in his bed, his hair messy and shadowing his aquamarine eyes. His chest was sweaty from the warm air in the room. "Raven? What is it?" He asked.  
  
Raven stopped walking, she was already at the end of his bed. She began to fiddle with her robe. "I...I uh...I just...," she stammered.  
  
"What is it already? Something wrong?"  
  
"Vash I...I have...I have something to tell you."  
  
Vash smiled slightly, leaning forward so he could see her better. His own heartbeat was quickening and he didn't know why. "Tell me then, don't be shy."  
  
"Vash I....this is hard for me...I..."  
  
Vash threw the blankets to the side and stood up on the floor. His black sweatpants hung off his hips and showed every detailed muscle he had on his whole upper body, making Raven blush immensly. "I'll wait for you to tell me when you're ready...to tell me whatever you need to say. Don't be frightened of my reactions to anything...nothing will surprise me, Raven."  
  
Nothing, she thought, he doesn't know how hard it is to say that you love someone when that person doesn't show a sign of liking you back.  
  
"I-I-I...I love you, Vash," she said, more like a whisper than a clear response.  
  
"What?"  
  
Raven shook her head and began to back out of the room. "N-nothing! Nevermind and forget that I was even here!"  
  
Raven turned and began to run out of the room. "Don't leave Raven," Vash said.  
  
She stopped at the doorframe when muscular arms came around her gently, not tight. Her breath became shallow with nervousness as Vash's hair tickled her ear and his face rested against hers. "Raven, I trust you enough to repeat what you said. Don't worry, I won't be surprised if it's the same thing I feel," he whispered.  
  
"I love you, Vash. I don't know these feelings well...and I hate them so much, I wish they'd just go away. I wish they wouldn't pick me. Does everyone who falls in love feel this way?" Raven asked.  
  
"Only those who's heart is pure, Raven."  
  
Raven was released, but as she turned around Vash kissed her on the lips. Raven's eyes slowly closed as the time began to stop. Vash put his arms around her and the door closed with a silent click. --  
  
I opened my eyes and sighed. "She hasn't been home for a day...where is she?" I mumbled.  
  
"Maybe with that boy you're so fond of speaking of," Legato replied with a sneer.  
  
I sat up in bed and yawned. Legato rose with me and put his arms around me, kissing me like he always did. I failed to react to it. "Sorry....I'm just worried about her."  
  
Legato gazed into my eyes. "I'm sure she's alright, but you can always track where she is. Using your powers to see her and her surroundings."  
  
I felt the worries fade away and I jumped onto the wooden floor. "I'm going to do that!"  
  
"That would be invading her privacy, Nicole."  
  
"So! Don't you want to know where the hell she is?!"  
  
I closed my eyes before Legato could reply. I felt intense emotions. Emotions I remembered. I felt my heart began to constrict as I could see an unruly mass of blonde hair shading aquamarine eyes. Raven's eyes were closed and I could tell what had happened. "No!!!" I screamed.  
  
I opened my eyes and a power erupted from me, sending the windows shattering in the halls. "What is it Nicole?!" Legato inquired.  
  
I turned to him with tears in my eyes, tears of blood. "Our daughter is not a virgin anymore....Vash is back..."  
  
"Okay....settle down, Nicole. Who was the boy Raven had with her? Oh, I'm glad Vash is back too.."  
  
"Vash is that man with Raven."  
  
Legato's eyes began to widen. "Oh, " is all he said.  
  
"That child will not feel the kindness I always give her," I sneered.  
  
"Nicole?"  
  
I felt the power within me begin to grow to something terrible. The tears began to flow without stopping and dropped to the ground, spreading around me. Pain erupted within me and I couldn't cry out as my body split apart. --  
  
Raven's eyes snapped open and she looked up into Vash's eyes. Vash stared back into her eyes and his softened. "I'm sorry...am I hurting you?" He asked.  
  
"N-no....something terrible is happening," she replied.  
  
Vash laid down on top of her and brushed her hair back with his right hand. "I feel it also, but all we can do is wait and see what it is."  
  
Raven nodded and Vash kissed her while she felt his energy flow throughout her body like an energy shake. Her body trembled as he got out of bed and pulled on his sweatpants. "All we can do is wait here," he said.  
  
Raven sat up as Vash came back and sat down on the bed. He reached over and touched her cheek. "You look so much like my last love...but she's long gone now."  
  
"I'm sorry," Raven replied.  
  
"It's alright, I have you now and my broken heart is mending."  
  
Raven smiled and hugged Vash tight. This, she thought, this feels right and wrong at the same time. I have what I want, but where is the price? Where is my bill of being in love? Where is my death card?  
  
-- To Be Continued. -- 


End file.
